India Cement acquires coal mines in Indonesia

India Cements has reportedly acquired a coal mine in Indonesia, which is expected to go on-stream by January 2012, for US$20m.

According to reports, India Cements is also in the process of setting up a 50MW power plant near Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu .

N Srinivasan, vice chairman and managing director, India Cements was quoted as saying: “The coal mine acquisition is a strategic decision, it will reduce our exposure to the fluctuating coal price internationally. Despite a 4% fall in demand across south India, the company managed to post good profit. Its capacity utilisation was around 68%, due to the excess capacity in South India, which is currently around 100Mt.”